Vet Says no BG testing for 1 week after starting Lantus?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Bubba Mom

Bubba Mom

Member Since 2021
Hi everyone,

Bubba just got his first shot of lantus (1 unit twice daily) today. Since it was later in the day I have to wait until tomorrow morning for his next shot. I was taking his BG with a contour next ez twice a day. Vet said to stop for one week then do a curve. She wants me and Bubba to get used to the rhythm and schedule of his insulin injections without the added stress of BG readings. His BG readings have been in the 400's including this morning before his injection. I'm apprehensive about giving him any injections with a PS test. Is it really safe to wait as the vet instructed? I can still test without telling her when he's seen again next week for an imaging apt. She doesn't want me to stop completely, just give us both a rest since we are new to this. Any advice would be great. We want to do what's best for Bubba. I know Lantus is a depot drug and it takes time to come into full effect so the possibility of a hypo is low. Just want to be safe. Thank you.
 
Hi Sasha and welcome to you and Bubba!
Your instincts are correct! Not testing is just putting your head in the sand and hoping for the best! The first indication you will have that something is amiss is when Bubba shows hypo symptoms and by then the BG is dangerously low.
Absolutely test before every preshot and again during the cycle.

Knowledge is power. Knowing what the BG is doing allows you to make judgements on when to test, if it is safe to give the insulin, when to feed and when to increase or decrease the dose.
Some cats have a strong reaction to Lantus so it is always wise to test from the beginning. If for example the dose of 1 unit is too high, it won’t matter if the depot is full or not.
Is this his first time on insulin?
Do you have a hypo kit set up and ready with high carb food and honey or Karo?
Here is a useful link
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-how-you-can-help-us-help-you.216696/

Are you able to add all the tests you have already done into your SS please. It will be very useful information for us moving forward. Then draw a line in the SS and put ..Started Lantus. So we can see the start of insulin, Thanks!
I would recommend you post every day so we can see how he is going. There as tips we can give you as you go along.
Bron
 
Thanx so much for your quick reply. Yes this is his first time on insulin and we do have items ready for a hypo if needed. (I'm hypoglycemic, have been for 30 yrs so I keep things around) We have honey, syrup, and CatSip milk on hand. We also have his favorite dry food available as well Blue Buffalo Healthy Aging. I will be updating his SS tomorrow (After my migraine subsides) with all of the lab results from his last 2 visits. He is anemic, and has been fighting a tooth infection. He received a shot of convenia yesterday for this. We are watching his closely and even have a ring camera set up to watch him.
 
He is fed smalls meals of wellness wet food throughout the day and through the night via an automatic feeder to help prevent BG spikes
 
Hi Sasha, sounds as if you are very well set up and organised! An autofeeder is a diabetic carer’s best friend.
I’m sorry you have a migraine.....they are very debilitating.
The lab results will be helpful too.
For a high carb option food wise in case of low numbers, it is better to get a high carb wet food instead of a dry food for a couple of reasons.
Dry food takes longer to be effective and longer to get out of the system and it will restrict you to only one dosing method. Also dry food is bad for all cats because, apart from being high carb, it has only 7% moisture compared to 78% moisture in canned food. And as cats are not great drinkers, they need moisture for their kidneys.

If you look in this list you will carb content of all he cans. It is good to have some medium carb foods around 13 to 15 % and some high carb foods 18% and higher to use if needed. When you get them make the top of the can with the number of carbs so you can see easily when you need them. And put them away from the normal low carb food so you don’t mix them up and use inadvertently.
Food charthttps://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

Keep asking questions, we are happy to answer them.
Bron
 
You are incredibly on top of things given this is your first experience with feline diabetes!!

As for the recommendation from your vet, my totally non-PC thought was, "That's the dumbest thing I ever heard." Given that I tend to be rather direct with any medical/veterinary professional, my question would have been in response to that recommendation whether the vet would agree to not test his or her infant if the child had been diagnosed with diabetes. My guess is that there's no way a parent would shoot insulin blindly (i.e., not knowing what the blood glucose numbers are prior to shot time). Given that some cats can have a marked response to insulin, if it were me, I'd err on the side of safety.

If you are new to home testing, this is a link to information we've compiled.
 
Thank you everyone,

This was mine and my husband's thoughts as well. It just seemed stupid not to make sure. Rest assured that I'm still testing regardless of my vet's suggestion. I have also updated my SS.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Hi Sasha, sounds as if you are very well set up and organised! An autofeeder is a diabetic carer’s best friend.
I’m sorry you have a migraine.....they are very debilitating.
The lab results will be helpful too.
For a high carb option food wise in case of low numbers, it is better to get a high carb wet food instead of a dry food for a couple of reasons.
Dry food takes longer to be effective and longer to get out of the system and it will restrict you to only one dosing method. Also dry food is bad for all cats because, apart from being high carb, it has only 7% moisture compared to 78% moisture in canned food. And as cats are not great drinkers, they need moisture for their kidneys.

If you look in this list you will carb content of all he cans. It is good to have some medium carb foods around 13 to 15 % and some high carb foods 18% and higher to use if needed. When you get them make the top of the can with the number of carbs so you can see easily when you need them. And put them away from the normal low carb food so you don’t mix them up and use inadvertently.
Food charthttps://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

Keep asking questions, we are happy to answer them.
Bron
Click to expand...

I was wondering about adding water to a batch of dry to make a soupy paste that I could then freeze into portion sizes and store in the freezer for emergency feedings. Then I could pop a cube into the microwave for a 30 secs and have a wet, high carb meal on hand of something we know he'll eat and has had no issues on his stomach. This would be for emergency purposes only.
 
Bubba Mom said:
I was wondering about adding water to a batch of dry to make a soupy paste that I could then freeze into portion sizes and store in the freezer for emergency feedings. Then I could pop a cube into the microwave for a 30 secs and have a wet, high carb meal on hand of something we know he'll eat and has had no issues on his stomach. This would be for emergency purposes only.
Click to expand...
You would be better getting some canned higher carb food. However if you have to work around tummy issues, you could try it but it will still take longer to be absorbed and take longer to leave the body...ie could keep the BG up higher for longer.
I would buy just one can of higher carb food and give him a small amount to see how he goes with it. You can then freeze the left overs for when you need them. Make sure you Mark the container with the number of calories.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top